


Bitter coffee and cold hands

by Bokutoya



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self-Doubt, Self-Worth Issues, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-06-19 11:39:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15509115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bokutoya/pseuds/Bokutoya
Summary: *large update in the first chapter! Please read!*Prompto has suffered from prolonged periods of touch-starvation nearly all his life with little to no help dealing with the aching it caused. Ignis had suffered terrible bouts of self deprecating thoughts that keep him up at night for many years without an ear to listen.Both can't turn a blind eye to their feelings any longer. It's time to heal and grow.|Tags will be updated as the story progresses





	Bitter coffee and cold hands

**Author's Note:**

> This is a hurt/comfort fic so please bare with the angst while it's there. I promise it will get better.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a hurt/comfort fic so please bare with the angst while it's there. I promise it will get better.
> 
>  
> 
> I also now have a beta! Without them I would be drowning in lost hope for this fic, but now I'm very excited to get it going again!

First looks can always be deceiving. You can't always judge someone perfectly the second you meet them. Some may have untold stories of pain and hardship, some may have smiles that didn't quite express how they truly felt inside. Each person a piece to the intricate puzzle of life trying to find where they fit in,where they belong.    
  
Prompto Argentum, smile so bright you wouldn't blink twice and laugh so contagious that one couldn't help but laugh along. He hid a secret though. Behind every laugh was a broken price of self, every smile feeling a bit forced. It's not that the freckled man didn't want to be honest, he just knew it was best to keep the mask up. Not tell a soul of how he yearned for the physical affection of another.   
  
Ignis Scientia,seemingly bold and short worded, though bright and full of quips and puns also harbored his own inner battles. He was quick to blame himself for the misfortunes of his comrades, bare the burden on his own. His offhanded jokes kept any speculations of his own self doubt away from those dear to him, no one would suspect if he kept up the act.    
  
Both were flawed in their thinking. One couldn't simply shrug off the yearn and physical pains of touch-starvation, nor could one carry the guilt of all their mistakes alone forever. It would build up, fester and sore until it pops in an overflow of emotions. A mask will only crumble and fade away with time.    
  
\--   
  
"Iggy look out!"    
  
The shout came straight from the gunman as he backed up his comrades in their battle against a pack of bloodhorns. Who even knew the damn things roamed in packs in the first place! Thankfully the warning was given in time, the dagger weilding man able to do a back-flip and dodge the raging beast, opening an opportunity for their prince to warp in and end it's suffering.    
  
That seemed to take care of the last of the beasts and their hunt was over, a job well done if Prompto had any say in it, and they were off to collect their reward. They were already halfway to Lestallum and the Regalia and chocobo rentals definitely weren't going to pay for themselves. Nevertheless would their rations.     
  
A hand clasped to the blonds shoulder, Ignis. He could tell by the gentle pressure that was applied, not too tight and not too loose.   
  
"Thank you for the warning. I do believe we should go turn in that reward for some gil now. The Regalia will be in need of a fill up very soon."    
  
And the hand was gone before he could even think of leaning in to the touch, not that he would have anyway.    
  
That got the group moving, calling for chocobos as they made sure that they had everything. Prompto happily hopped onto his bird cooing and gently petting the yellow feathers atop it's head.    
  
"Look at you! You're just the prettiest!" The chocobo kwehed a happy reply in turn.    
  
"Still talking to your chocobo?" Noct and his sarcastic remark, always with a smirk playing on his lips.    
  
"You're just jealous because me and her have a connection and all your chocobo does is peck at you and your hair."    
  
This was a normal argument between the two best friends. Almost a daily occurrence.   
  
"Okay, you two. I suggest you quit the bickering and we head to the nearest outpost to cash in the reward like I mentioned earlier."   
  
There were two quick "Sorry Iggy."s and then they were off.    
  
The trip was quiet for the most part aside from some casual conversation between Gladio and Noctis every now and then. They were bickering over King’s Knight, another regular occurrence. The beefy man was just terrible at the game and hated to own up to his own incompetence even if it was just a mere game.    
  
\--   
  
They were in Lestallum within two days;  tired, sweaty, dirty, and most definitely smelling very fragrant, and not in the good way.   
  
"I call the first shower!" Prompto practically yelled as him and Noctis raced to their room.   
  
The blond would have won if not for Noctis warping, or as Prompto always called it: 'cheating'.    
  
"Oh come on dude that's totally not fair!" Came the complaint.   
  
"There wasn't a rule saying that I couldn't warp so sorry Prom, you lose. I'm first shower."    
  
There were a few more words exchanged, some rough housing into the room which ended up with Prompto in a choke hold while Noctis rubbed his knuckles into dirty blond strands.    
  
"Well after Prompto I would like to shower so make it quick both of you. I would prefer not to shower in ice cold water."    
  
Ignis perched himself in one of the plush chairs. Not the best quality, but comfortable nonetheless. There was some shuffling before Noctis released Prompto and gathered his things to shower. The freckled man decided that then would be a good time to play against Gladio in some King’s Knight.    
  
"Hey big guy, let's play."    
  
The brute of a man only smirked.   
  
"Oh yeah? You're on. Wanna join us Specs?   
  
Ignis shook his head at the offer. Simple phone games didn't have much of an appeal to him.    
  
"I'm not a fan of that game, as you're well aware."    
  
"Aww, Iggy, come on! You never play any games with us and you're just always reading. Loosen up a bit, please?"    
  
That was Prompto's best begging voice, violet blue eyes glistening with a pout on his chapped lips. It was a look Ignis was weak to, not that he would ever admit that aloud though.    
  
"I will play one round of the game, and one round only."    
  
Cheers from the blond and brunett were heard as Ignis made his way to sit on one of the beds with the other two.   
  
"Alright, let's begin."   
  
\--   
  
Ignis was better than all of them at the game even at a low level. Noctis had come from the shower and brought his own phone out to play with his friends, Prompto excusing himself to go shower. Then Ignis went for his, and then Gladio, and now they were all in battle with yells of fun and playful shoving.   
  
Prompto tried not to let all the touching get to him, tried to lean away from the touch of Ignis, their shoulders pressed tight against each other. If Ignis figured out his uncomfortable behavior, he didn't comment on it.    
  
The rest of the night went similarly. Noct and Gladio becoming agitated and Ignis completely destroying all of them without even trying.    
  
"How are you even so good Iggy!? You have to be cheating or something!" Prompto whined in defeat.    
  
"I'm simply good at the game. Strategy is my skill and that's what this game is about."   
  
More groans from the three losers and Ignis was ready to call it a night.    
  
"Tomorrow we leave for Cape Caem with Iris after we take care of a hunt or two to provide some extra gil."   
  
Everyone agreed and began to take their places in the room, Noctis deciding him and Gladio could share a bed since they tossed and turned aggressively in their sleep and Prompto said he didn't mind sleeping on the couch bed. That left Ignis to his own bed. Once settled Prompto whispered a quick "Goodnight." and the lights were turned out.    
  
Prompto couldn't sleep. Soft snores and even breathing filled the hotel room, but he simply couldn't get himself to sleep. His mind raced with the lingering thoughts of Ignis touching his shoulder, of the hand that steadily squeezed his joint with reassurance. He yearned for that feeling, the touch of his secret crush. He knew he couldn't have him and it only caused the ache to grow.   
  
Tears made their way down his cheeks, silent and warm down the freckled skin, a touch red from the sun. He couldn't allow the others to hear him, to know that he was harboring negative thoughts. He had to be their for them even if it broke him.    
  
\--   
  
Morning came and their day started off leisurely. Iris showed them around, helped them get a few easy hunts and then they were off to gain the gil the specific hunts would earn them. Prompto seemed off, more so than his normal aloofness allowed. Ignis noticed it almost immediately when the blond woke. It looked as if he had been crying all night and he hoped that wasn't true. His chest ached painfully for the man.    
  
They took quite a while to reach where the hunt was and when they came to the destination, the creature they were supposed to hunt turned out to be more than they anticipated. The beast seemed enraged, black goo dripping from its eyes and mouth as it thrashed it's body around, a deep and pained roar ripping from its throat. It looked almost like a dinosaur and essentially, that's what it was.    
  
The fight proved difficult for Prompto. No matter how many bullets he unloaded into the beast, none made a difference. Noct was right in the line of danger, having reached stasis after a violent and unrelenting attack on the raging beast. Prompto screamed for him and bolted, shoving the prince out of harms way as a voretooth decided to join the fight, attacking them along with the possessed creature.   
  
One had lunged for Noct, snarling and rabid. The blond managed to get Noctis out of the way, gun pointed shakily at the beast. Why was he so shaky?   
  
There was the faint sound of gunshots, the screaming of his name… Was that Gladio? It sounded like Gladio. And then there was the searing pain of teeth tearing into his flesh, teeth of a voretooth deep into his shooting arm. He had missed the shot. Violet blue eyes grew terrified. He hardly ever missed at such close range. Maybe it was the exhaustion of hardly sleeping the night before, maybe he just wasn’t as good anymore...   
  
A scream of pain ripped through his throat, gun dropping and fist slamming into the beast’s head. A large and ground shaking thump of the larger beast was heard as is fell to its death a few meters away. The distraction lasted seconds before the panic of how royally screwed he was caught up with Prompto. He could hear the sound of metal slicing through flesh and then Ignis was there beside him, the creature gone from his arm.   
  
Without teeth there to stop the bleeding anymore, blood poured down his arm, leaving a puddle as frightened and shocked blue eyes met green.    
  
"I-Iggy. Help."    
  
And then the rest was a blur, panicked yelling, a potion being used, curses flying from Gladio's mouth. He heard what sounded like a muttering about poison and too much blood loss. Everything was turning dark and he was just so damn tired. How could a simple voretooth do this? Probably because they were all distracted by the bigger creature. None of them had actually been hurt to this extent by one of the dog like creatures before, they weren't aware of how aggressive their bite could be, if they harbored poison within the bite, how much damage they could cause. All they knew what that under normal circumstances, the small beasts were easy to kill, but these were not normal circumstances.    
  
The world around him faded into darkness, the faint feeling if being lifted causing him to groan and whimper.    
  
"Hush now Prompto. We will bring you to safety. All will be okay."    
  
The accented voice helped him ease into the darkness, no longer feeling as panic riddled as he previously felt.    
  
Sitting around in a bed was nearly just as bad at the tight feeling Prompto would get in his chest and stomach from lack of human contact, at least, that's what he concluded when he finally felt the potion and his body finish their healing job on his arm the day after the attack. He woke with a groan, aching and stiff while he looked around for his companions. It seemed to be early in the night, a window to his right open as he scanned around the room.    
  
Everyone seemed to be asleep aside from a certain spectacled man. Ignis. It wasn't out of character for the ash blond. There were many a night that he would wake from a nightmare to see him up, drinking coffee at any given hour of the night. Most of the time the blond wouldn't utter a word, this time though it seemed like Ignis had other plans and he had already seen the blond was awake.   
  
"Glad to see you've finally woken. How are you feeling Prompto?" The question came out smoothly, though exhaustion dripped from the words. He made his way to Prompto, offering a bottle of water to him once he reached the bed. Ignis then perched himself upon the chair that was next to the bed.   
  
"Kinda like garbage but I'm not bleeding out anymore so I'd say that's a win." He gave the best smile he could muster up as he accepted the bottle, uncapping it and taking long gulps. "Sorry about the trouble I caused." It was a sincere apology.    
  
"No need for that. What's important is that we're all alive now." Prompto nodded his response and bit his lip as gloved hand reached over to inspect the healed wound. "Seems to be fine now with no infections. Would you like to shower? I want to speak to you afterwards if that's alright."    
  
There was a affirmative nod from the blond followed by a quick "Sure, Iggy." and then he was off to his shower where he could think through the events of the previous day and worry about the conversation that was in his near future.    
  
Ignis wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He was definitely upset, but the most weighty subject on his mind was the impending thoughts of how it was all his fault. If only he had reacted quick enough, or if he had payed more attention, then Prompto wouldn't have been injured by such a low-threat creature. He could have done more to assure the safety of his unit, to assure their health.   
  
The dark thoughts continued to twist their way in his head and build up violently into a dark consumption of his mind, chanting and screaming at him for his failures.  Only negative messages made any sense in those long few minutes that Prompto was gone, the terrifying thoughts only multiplying. They suggested such terrible things. What if Noctis has been hurt, or Gladio? What if they all had become injured to a point of no recovery, ill struck into bed for an eternity never to see the outside world again? It became bone chilling, thoughts never ending.    
  
The advisors facial expression only fell and became one showing his deep rooted guilt, only changing back to indifferent exhaustion once Prompto walked through the bathroom door in pajamas with damp hair. He had a minor, hopeful smile on his freckled face, noticing the grim mood of the quiet room.    
  
"Hey Iggy. So, uh, what did you want to talk to me about?" Bless the blonds heart. He was much too innocent to deserve any harm.

 

Ignis moved from where he was in the room to sit at the edge of Prompto's bed. "Come sit beside me so we can speak."    
  
There was a slight hesitation as Prompto moved to sit beside the ash blond, making sure he wasn't too close to him. The blue-violet eyes shined with uncertainty. This could be a recipe for disaster, well, more of an uncomfortable fluttering and tightening in his chest, one that became an ache and then became cripplingly painful.    
  
"I've noticed your odd behavior. You shy away from the touch of others, through I can see the longing in your eyes. Why is that Prompto? We are your friends, we don't want you to suffer." The concern that came from those words was enough to make Prompto's chest tighten. Now he felt guilty. Ignis had noticed. A sigh slowly passed through his lips, eyes cast downwards.    
  
"I just, I don't want you guys to think of me differently. It's been really hard on me, denying the comfort. I guess I'm just scared that if I ask I'll be shut down and told no. So I just stay quiet and deal with it." The sorrowful expression in Ignis' face only made his chest ache even more fiercely. 

 

"I'm sorry Iggy." He nearly choked on the words, looking away from the saddened emerald eyes peering so delicately at him. The gaze was too suffocating for him.    
  
"Oh, Prompto, you have nothing to fear. We are your comrades. So what if you need some extra physical attention? Friends don't just abandon one another because of something so trivial." Slender arms wrapped around thin shoulders in a gentle embrace. That's all it took for Prompto to snap, tears falling slowly down freckled cheeks. 

 

"I-I'm sorry Iggy." The broken cry made the advisors heartbreak even more. Oh how he wished he could heal the broken boy.    
  
That night the two spent hours simply laying close after a long and emotional conversation that had Ignis close to tears. Prompto had to adjust himself to the new and relieving feeling of finally being cradled and close to someone and Ignis taking the comfort and allowing himself to finally relax into a peaceful slumber. They would speak more with everyone in the morning, assure Prompto that his feelings were valid and give the blond some peace of mind knowing that they wanted him apart of the their team, no matter what.

**Author's Note:**

> This is simply a small intro into the story! Chapters will hopefully average around 5,000 words each. For now please bare with this to get the story going. Also, this was written while I was sleep deprived. Apologies in advance.


End file.
